BURLINGTON, Wash. — As a fourth-generation farmer, Don McMoran has always been acutely aware of the risks associated with agriculture.

While growing up on a 2,000-acre potato farm in Skagit County, Wash., a worker on his family’s farm lost the use of his legs.

“I always kind of looked up to him and his ability to persevere,” said McMoran.

The farmworker left such an impact that today McMoran is the principal investigator for the Washington state AgrAbility project — a national program dedicated to improving the success and quality of life for farmers, ranchers and other agricultural workers with disabilities in rural America.

The national program was part of the 1990 Farm Bill and has since provided funding for 20 AgrAbility affiliates across the U.S., including programs in Washington and California.

“Farmers are really good at attempting to solve problems,” said McMoran. “Even if that means navigating a disability. We just want to make sure that they’re being safe about it and then make other things available to them.”

McMoran started the AgrAbility affiliate in Washington in 2019.

Although attempting to do outreach for the program proved to be challenging during the COVID pandemic, McMoran is hopeful AgrAbility will continue to change the narrative of how farmers and farmworkers with disabilities operate.

“From my own experience in agriculture, I was taught at a very young age you never complain, you don’t talk about your issues, you suck it up and you get the job done,” said McMoran. “I think AgrAbility has taught me that sucking it up may get the job done, but if you get an injury in the process, we’re not doing ourselves any benefit.”

According to a 2019 USDA study, approximately 19% of farmers live with some type of a disability. AgrAbility aims to take down some of the barriers they face.

That includes financial resources to pay for assistive technologies, educational resources surrounding how to navigate farming or ranching with a disability or simply helping to alleviate the stigma surrounding agricultural work with a disability.

For McMoran, providing outreach and educational opportunities to farmers has been a key part of the work the Washington AgrAbility affiliate has done so far.

Viva Farms, a nonprofit incubator farm training program, has been working with AgrAbility since it started in Washington.

“It’s never too early to start thinking about making sure you’re taking care of your body over time,” said Rob Smith, the director of programs and operations at Viva Farms. “Agriculture is a dangerous profession, so working with AgrAbility has been a nice connection. I think the more education that we can provide to a variety of people, the more that we can do to make sure that people are taken care of.”

Agriculture ranks among the most hazardous industries. According to the Center of Disease Control and Prevention, in 2020, there were 11,880 injuries in agricultural production that required days off work, with young farm workers historically being most at risk.

McMoran said he is hopeful farm incubators such as Viva Farms will also incorporate injury prevention in their programing.

AgrAbility provides resources such as the “lending library,” which is an assistive technology database. Farmers or farmworkers with disabilities can view or search the toolbox to find products, designs, ideas, techniques and suggestions depending on their specific needs.

The Washington affiliate will mail the tools anywhere in the state for agricultural workers to try out for 20 days. AgrAbility also offers help finding low- or no-interest funding options via the Northwest Access Fund.

To learn more about AgrAbility, visit: http://www.agrability.org/contact-lists/.